More than one million cubic metres of clean fill have been tipped into the quarry – the equivalent of 450 Olympic-size swimming pools.
“This is an important day, bringing us a big step closer to achieving our dream of creating the Centennial Park of the north,” Hornsby Shire Mayor Philip Ruddock said.
“It’s amazing to see how much the quarry has transformed over such a short period of time. It took almost a century to dig it all out but little more than 18 months for us to fill a major part of it in again.”
The completion of NorthConnex’s role in the remediation project comes after the New South Wales Government committed $100 million in funding to the redevelopment of the Hornsby Quarry and Westleigh Waterboard site following boundary changes during failed amalgamation attempts.
Berowra federal Liberal MP Julian Lester told a press conference that the quarry was an example of what could be achieved when multiple levels of government work together.
“Not only are we reducing traffic congestion by taking 5000 trucks off Pennant Hills Road and getting people back to their families sooner and safer – we are also transforming this dead space into a recreational park which will be enjoyed by many future generations,” Lester said.
Community asset
NorthConnex will spend the next few months removing its equipment from the site and carrying out remediation works, including the resurfacing of Bridge Road between Roper Lane and Peats Ferry Road. It will hand the keys to the site back to Hornsby Shire Council in the middle of the year.
Council’s plans for the next stage of the rehabilitation are well advanced, with a development application for the required earthworks soon to be submitted. This will determine the general shape of the park to be created. It will be placed on public exhibition before being approved.
“Council is committed to seeking detailed input from the public, to make this a park that is designed by the community,” Ruddock said. “This is going to be the centrepiece of our recreational facilities for generations to come and we are determined to get it right.”
There will be further public consultation as the project continues, up to its anticipated completion date in 2023.
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